"Silly" is a song written by Fritz Baskett, Clarence McDonald and

Deniece Williams Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs " Free", " Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two ''Bill ...

and performed by Williams. The

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

ful ballad was released off Williams' '' My Melody'' album in 1981 and became the most successful track off the album reaching as high as number fifty-three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 becoming an even bigger success on the R&B chart where it peaked at number eleven. It has since gone on to become one of Williams' most requested songs over a career that has spanned over thirty years. The song featured production by Williams and respected

Philly soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often featu ...

producer

Thom Bell Thomas Randolph Bell (January 27th, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, pianist, and composer known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. He found success as a producer ...

. The song was recorded at Philadelphia's acclaimed Sigma Sound Studios. The song would be later covered by singer

Taral Hicks Taral Hicks (born September 21, 1974) is an American actress and singer. Hicks is best known for her acting in such films as 1993's American crime drama film ''A Bronx Tale'' and her singing in such work as her 1997 debut studio album ''This Tim ...

nearly two decades later in 1997 and was released as the second single off Hicks' debut album becoming a hit on the R&B chart. One of Williams' influences,

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

, later recorded the song for her 2005 album, '' Classic Moments''. Singer

Monica Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

later sampled the instrumental intro and bridge of the song for her number-one R&B hit, " Everything to Me" and also interpolated Williams' ending high notes at the end of the song. Monica and Williams sang "Everything to Me" and "Silly" respectively together at the

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

Awards in 2010. ''

The-Dream Terius Youngdell Nash (born September 20, 1977), better known by his stage name The-Dream, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His co-writing credits include songs with "Me Against the Music" (2003) for Britney Spears, "Ride ...

'' also sampled the song for his song "Silly", which featured Casha, on his free mixtape ''1977''.

Charts

1981 singles 1997 singles Deniece Williams songs Contemporary R&B ballads Songs written by Deniece Williams 1981 songs Columbia Records singles Songs written by Clarence McDonald Soul ballads 1980s ballads {{1980s-R&B-song-stub